Oldest Son's Quilt

I finally finished my oldest son's quilt this weekend. I am glad that I did, it was a nice surprise for him to come home from his State Competition for Skills USA this weekend where he won 3rd place against 26 students- to a bed with clean sheets, a new quilt and a new pillowcase that I had made.

My husband had picked out a Simpson's TV Show fabric for the back. My oldest son did not like it. So I picked out this blue flannel from my stash- its interesting that the other Tshirt quilt I made him (my very first one) has the same exact backing. The binding on the quilt is also blue.

I love this one shirt- it was the back. It truly explains my son and how hard he works for everything he has and will have in the future. Recently I had sent pictures to a coach of my middle son running Track. She said that she is appreciates the work ethic we instill in our children and that they could all three be poster children for their Cross Country/Track Motto that says Hard Work = Success

Zekaryah's Quilt

I finally finished my son's Birthday gift from January which then became a Valentines Day gift, and then an Easter gift.. even that was late. It is a twin size quilt with 12 Tshirts

 

He picked out the green mossy water fabric and my husband and I found the green tree moss flannel for the back. We combined the layers with a handmade cotton blue binding because that is his second favorite color. He loves the quilt and can't wait to use it tonight.

 

Hymns for Kids Heart 3 Pack Giveaway

This is a cute set of books that has a Cd at the end of each one. It has a little story throughout and then a song with written lyrics. They are hardbound books. It would make a great gift to one child or three. I am giving away volumes 1-3. They are from Focus on the Family written by Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson Todd

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Christian Parenting

Parenting sure can be a difficult situation at times. I find myself praying a great deal about obstacles we face. Lately those obstacles are things such as dating, talent shows, makeup, birthday parties, movies etc.

As the three kids become teenagers I find that I lean to the Lord for understanding even more. I try to think of what the rules were in our home, how I reacted to them, what worked and what didn't. I think of what we learned growing up in church. I think of the world we live in now and what battle I am sticking to and what I will ease up on. A give and take approach.

The Lord promises some basic principles when it comes to parenting. 

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.Proverbs 22:6

It also talks very candidly about how we approach our children too. I find that this is ever so useful. For example in the lines of dating. Our oldest son has no interest, he has been very easy to raise in this respect. He is very school oriented. He is in 10th grade and dating is not even on his life plan yet. Our middle son was a little girl crazy early on. He probably mildly has some interest but for the most part is just enjoying life. Our daughter has had one interest since early on last year. We continue to state that she is not 16 so dating is off limits. It does not mean she cannot be good friends with this boy. We encourage open communication though.

This bible verse led us to an important decision this week, 

Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged Colossians 3:21

The reason I say this? See she came home this week and let me know she would like to sing in the talent show with this said boy. My first instinct was leary with the wording okay.. Then I found out their choice of song. My instincts became a very steady- this is not a good idea. Her dad came home and I let him know the plan. He was less thrilled then I was. Then I realized let it play out. Why make a big fuss out of something that was really not a big deal. It was a song. I needed to pick my battles. 

The Lord worked in our faith. She is not singing the song with the boy afterall, she decided that her and two friends felt their voices did not match enough and she would not likely win. She also decided he made her too nervous. She was simply just going to sing her solo piece.

I was a very happy Mamma! 

We have had this same approach with spending time with friends, make up, going to movies without any adults etc. It is hard to always make the right call. I have to always lean on faith that the Lord is watching over them. The world moves so quickly these days. I feel like children grow up so early and face so many adult decisions before they are ready. I pray that we continue to try to not be friends with our children. Not get caught up in the ideas of their firsts- like dances, dating etc. We continue to help them build good character and serve the Lord through the choices they make. 

I leave you with another wonderful verse. May you have a very Blessed Weekend. Remember to take time to really connect with your children or loved ones. What you do today really does make a difference.

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.Psalm 103:13

Menu Monday and a Bit on Serving

Well I must confess I have no idea what we will eat this week. I have been so busy! Friday night our church The Fellowship of the Woodlands had an activity for children in 2nd-4th grade. I picked up my daughter, middle son and their friend in 2nd grade from school, then came home real quick to talk with my oldest-make a couple phone calls. Found out I was picking up not just one of my son's friends but two. We went out got them, then drove to the church. SO I arrive with five children all but one is in 4th grade. Wow, what a car ride that was.

We all had a very good time. I got to do one of my favorite things ever- serve Children!

It was nice because I could leave my husband and oldest at home that night, and let the five children I brought blend in with the rest of the kids, worry about nothing but painting little girls fingernails all night in the Glamour Room they had set up for "Blast Off". What a joy.

It was wonderful to see them get their hair done, even some by an actual hair stylist- who us adult women might pay a fortune for. Some got some eye makeup- which I never let my daughter do- she is not even 10 yet, ugh... but nonetheless it was an event so she got to try on some blue eyeshadow. YEAH. LOL
These little girls showed the true feeling of just having fun. Talking about school, boys, home, the High School Musical 3 movie that was playing. Most asking for black nail polish, which I would have to decline and choose the darkest blue for, each time asking are you sure this is the color you want, your mom won't get mad? I was so concerned for some of them. Then I realized why i was there that night- among all these little girls.

A little girl came up, picked her polish and said I love Blast Off, I said well that is great, what have you done tonight? We preceded to talk and I found out her parents had recently divorced, she was here from Louisiana, didn't know anyone and just wanted to stay there and have fun, not go home. My heart went out to this little girl, who then enjoyed my conversation so much that about 15 min later she brought her twin sister to meet me so I could then do her nails- a similar color which her sister was thrilled with.

It reminded me of God and how often times we are displaced in our lives, maybe we are still in our home, but we move the slightest bit away from him. How we feel alone and sad and just could really use a Blast Off day. In my serving children I got to be that smile that girl needed- maybe that stranger that she could confide in, that person that could tell her how much Jesus loves her, show her by painting her nails and giving her a ray of sunshine into her life- even so brief. So maybe as she grows older and things continue to change she can look back at that moment and remember it as one not quite so bad afterall. She is in a new church, living with dad, a church that loves god so much, and loves everyone who attends. I can't wait to see that little girl another time and see where she has grown.

We are so lucky to live here in a place that can freely worship Jesus and have hope. Hope is what those two sisters left with that night, and hope can make a huge difference in those dark tunnels we face for whatever reason they come.

As for my menu- I am sure I will throw something together this week. It will be rushed between Book Fair, Special Pals Week at Lunch, Choir Practices before and after school, A Choir Performance this week on Thur... Busy busy.. Thankfully I have hamburger frozen, some eggs, stuff to make pancakes, and a fresh bag of Pinto beans for some Bean Soup. This week we might just go Menuless. I'll let you know how we made it through next Monday.

Have a Wonderful Week

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.(Matthew 18:2-6 ESV)

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should

perish.(Matthew 18:12-14 ESV)

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.(Mark 10:13-16 ESV)

You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.(Deuteronomy 11:19 ESV)

What Am I Learning Friday

You know sometimes things just click. Do you know what I mean, that light bulb moment, the stop you in your tracks type of moment, the ah ha- wow taken back moment. Yesterday I was laying in bed checking my email on the laptop, the younger two were in my son's room watching a DVD and my oldest was on the computer finishing up a Quiz he was creating for an Assignment in his Science Class. He had just finished and asked if I would read it. I said sure, bring me your flash drive- wow aren't those handy!

I plugged in the flash drive and looked it over. Made two changes one to a question and one to an answer-- it was just one word in both and was just amazed! It dawned on me where we were in life- Jakob and I. He will be 13 on the 12th and he is in all College Prep courses, the boy reads more than I do, probably as much as I did as a child for sure- he is an all A student. I can depend on him to help with things around the house and his week he just didn't need my help. I had not even realized he didn't need my help. I am looking over the assignment, was impressed at the quality and said wow, great job. He said Thank you and walked away.

I was sitting their for a minute reflecting on the week- the Legend he wrote for Science, this quiz I had just read, the fact that Tue morning he had me email every teacher for assignments since he was missing school- how wed right after school he was on top of his homework, preparing for a test he missed just handling it all and still managing to do his chores.

I was just so impressed at his attitude. He didn't feel good, he could have complained and griped and been in a pity party but he didn't. He knew what he had to do and he did it. How easy it would have been to just brush it off and make an excuse.

I called him in my room after he showered and just used some Godly wisdom from James 3:10 "From the Same mouth come blessing and cursing." I just expressed how impressed that I was, how much I appreciated his hard work and how I felt he was doing a wonderful job with school. I told him how pleased I was with the quality of his work.

You see while his room may not be clean, while he washes the dishes (which is his chore) but fails to see the kitchen includes:dishes, counters, stove etc. I saw the good work he was doing. I did not want to be upset over his shortcomings - the area he cuts corners in, but I wanted to praise his GOOD WORK- work of EXCELLENCE.

There will be a day where we will go over the steps of how properly clean a kitchen again but I did not want to miss the opportunity last night to speak Blessings from my mouth. I have a theory that as I raise my children I want to constantly pay attention to those things that impress me, the areas they go out of their way to do something wonderful, in turn I want to speak blessings upon those areas, build character, help them feel amazing about the achievements they have made, their strengths. My theory is that my Choosing to speak blessings instead of point out the areas they are weak and get upset over them which could tear them down, they might just apply some of that same effort into their weaker areas.

I do point out when something is not done, or when they need to redo things, but I want to make sure I am praising them far more than always showing them where they fall short.

It is amazing what we can do with our words. As Jakob left my room last night, there was a sense of love in his step. I could tell he appreciated me taking the time to tell him he did a great job and that I was proud of him.

Even in our own live's I think we all want to hear how proud our heavenly father is of us. I know for me I want the Lord to be very proud of the mother I am becoming, the mother he wants us all to be.

So this weekend make sure you praise your child or someone in your life for something they have done, give a boost to their spirit.

Sunshine